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Another police-caused death in Bend, Oregon. Our law enforcement officers can make mistakes.
I concur with the 5/8 Boot opposing cuts to the BAT and Dial A Ride.
I am a daily commuter on BAT, and what you can call a "choice" rider.
Although it hit a couple of potholes along the road - the worst being the purchase of some second-hand buses that turned out to be lemons - Bend Area Transit has become an important part of the city's transportation system. It provides close to 6,000 rides a week, many of them to people who have no other way of getting around.
Now the City of Bend, facing a $12 million budget shortfall, wants to cut back service on BAT as well as on Dial-a-Ride, the companion system that provides transportation for seniors and the disabled. We understand that the city has to make tough choices now that the easy-money days of the real estate bubble are gone. But this is a bad choice, at a bad time.
Text Me a Dime Bag
Back in the dark days before Blackberry's and smart phones, college kids had to score their illicit drugs the old fashioned way - with Ma Bell and the doorbell. Not anymore, at least at San Diego State University where authorities recently arrested 75 students in a massive drug dealing investigation. According to the Associated Press, one of the suspects had recently sent out a mass text message to his "faithful customers" informing them that he and his friends would be unable to provide cocaine over the weekend while they were in Las Vegas. The message also advertised an ongoing "sale" and listed the reduced prices for some drugs.
In all, authorities nabbed two kilos of cocaine, 350 Ecstasy pills, as well as marijuana, hash, mushrooms and methamphetamine. Among the places raided was the Theta Chi fraternity house where authorities said fraternity members were openly dealing drugs.
Which got Upfront to thinking that there are a lot of frat traditions that probably should be abandoned: binge drinking, hazing, racial discrimination etc. But maybe that whole trafficking in barrels of Bush Lite wasn't such a bad business model after all, at least when you look at the alternative.
Letter of the Week
I am disappointed with the new Bend Broadband billing method that penalizes customers for their Internet use. One reason I moved to Bend was because they had high speed Internet service. I use the high speed Internet to its fullest. I download media content through my wireless TIVO interface for viewing on my TV, I stream Internet music through our stereo, and I use Skype to web cam my friends and family. Isn't this exactly the type of usage that Bend Broadband fostered with their TV and print ads?
According to you, most Bend Broadband customers (91%) use less than the 10 GB per month. However, isn't the trend towards greater usage? Aren't the people who are simply surfing the web and reading their e-mails likely to start using newer media services? I believe that while I might be "pioneering" uses for the Internet, I am not that far ahead of the majority of customers. Isn't this a step back in technology? Will customers be discouraged from trying new non-Bend Broadband services for fear that they will overuse their service?
2008 recession! Why do companies lay people off and then hire them back two months later? Why would anyone give loyalty to a company when they know at any given moment that they can be cut loose? If a company wants loyalty from their employees then they should inform all personnel that a down time in business is not very far off and hours may have to be reduced. Simple communication is all that need apply here, and then there will not be any further resentment towards that company.
I was recently laid off and had no warning - just pull me into an office and announce, "Sorry dude, we gotta let you go due to lack of work for you." Now that company may say two months later, "We need you since it is now busy," but why would anyone go back knowing how unstable the management is?
I disagree with Peter M. Miller's reasoning for not allowing smoking in parks. Granted, they could and should be considered "healthy" places. However, a far more accurate label would be "public" - as in all-inclusive, everybody has a right to them!
Furthermore, using schools in comparison to public parks is a faulty analogy. Schools are for children. Of course there shouldn't be smoking allowed there (though I do personally believe that a place should be provided for the adults to smoke). Parks are for EVERYBODY. And as much as the anti-smoking fanatics would try to con us into believing that second-hand smoke is harmful, I would think that logic would prevail even to the dimmest of minds that in open-air places, smoke from cigarettes is of no harm at all.
Perhaps the solution to your "space limitation" problem is more obvious to readers than your staff.
I'd like to propose that you consider responding to reader requests.
Enough already about Bachelor. They finally got it right this year.
Once upon a time a developer had a bright idea. "Let's build a high-end, gated golf community out among the junipers and jackrabbits in the high desert," he said.
"How can we do that?" his partner asked dubiously. "Oregon's land use laws won't let us put almost 400 homes way outside of any urban area."
"No problem," the first partner replied. "We'll call it a 'destination resort.'"
"But won't we have to build hotels and rental condos for the tourists to stay in?" his partner asked.
"Don't sweat it," the first guy reassured him. "The county won't
enforce the law. And even if they wanted to, the law doesn't have any
teeth."
"Brilliant!" the other guy said. "What should we name it?"
"How about 'Pronghorn'?" the first guy said.
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